The Market: Grocery Store for Kids

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I am so excited to show you guys “The Market”!

My kids literally adore this market. I am not joking when I say that Ethan was in awe when he first saw it. I walked him down to the basement and he stopped in his tracks, covered his mouth, opened his eyes wide and said “OH MY GOSH!” It was so worth it once I saw his reaction.

The inspiration for the market came from our annual trip to the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia, where they have an awesome kid-sized grocery store. Ainsley has begged for a grocery store ever since. Sure honey… here is your store.

I created the awning out of pvc pipe and fabric (full tutorial is HERE). I made a scalloped banner out of chalkboard fabric so that the name can change at a whim… simply erase and rewrite with chalk.

Next to the market is a small chalkboard where the kids can write up the “Specials of the Day”. I started it and had Ainsley tell me how much each item would cost 😉

Below the awning is a cubby shelf turned on its side that I bought at Target. It houses all the grocery store food. We simply saved empty boxes from our pantry and taped them shut. (make sure they are clean and won’t attract bugs:)

On top of the cubby is a basket full of “fresh” fruit and veggies and felt “fresh cakes”.

Behind the “counter” is the cash register shelf. I took a sheet of wood we had already and covered it with some chevron shelf paper. The kids love that it has a debit card machine.

This is where the kids come to be the “money man” (as they call it) and ring up the customers.

Hayley Crouse is a wife, mother and multifaceted designer. Her love of sewing, crafting, cooking and interior design infuses her daily life and naturally spills over into her online presence. She pushes the envelope of her creativity and hopes that others will be inspired to do the same. She currently authors the Welcome to the Mouse House Blog, is the pattern designer behind Mouse House Creations and is a collaborative designer with Willow & Co. Patterns.

thanks Justine! I am not going to lie… we did it in less than 2 days. I had the idea, we sketched it out and just did it. There was no time to waste. I got this entry in with minutes to spare, haha. And yes, the kids love it to pieces!

Oh wow…. Love love love this! And love Flamingo Toes for telling me about your cute blog! Just pinned you up to my “I think I can pull that off” board at Pinterest. Don’t laugh… I don’t have kids! lol But I sooo need one of these! Perhaps done in Parisian cafe style, like an outdoor market, with books in the cubbies and some floor pillows in the ‘hidey hole’. Sigh…. silly for a middle aged woman, but I like it! 😉 BTW, I think there’s a super cheap Ikea bookcase (maybe the Billy?) that looks just like your target one. Not sure what target one cost, but might be cheaper.

Oh, and make sure you post this to ‘instructables’ website! Would go over HUGE there, and there’s a huge section on up-cycling Billy bookcases by ikea. Just a thought. 😉

OMG!! I cant begin to tell you how much I LOVE this!! I wanted to get my daughter a grocery stand for Xmas & wasn’t happy with the ones you purchase. I will be making this for her! Can you please tell me approx. how much fabric you purchased? Based off your tutorial you said you just hot glued the fabric to the pipe. I am new at sewing, so any easy tips would be great! Also, the blue fabric around the end, was it rope fabric? Glued on? Any helpful tips I would love!! Thank you!

I believe I had purchased 1.5 yards of fabric and yes, just hot glued the fabric to the pipe. The blue fabric around the edges is bias tape (you can buy it or make it) and I did sew it on, but you could certainly glue it as well!

Just adorable! I’m actually in the works of making my girls play room a grocery store/restaurant. So this is great to get more ideas. But I can’t open the link for the fabric and pipe tubes.?????Thank you.

Oh my gosh this is adorable! I love love love this, my daughter would go crazy over it! Thank you for sharing i might have to make something like this! Now following youSheena @ http://thekeeperofcheerios.blogspot.com/